Category B bioterrorism agents include which of the following?

Category B bioterrorism agents include which of the following?

• A. Salmonella and brucellosis
• B. Anthrax and tularemia
• C. Hantavirus and Nipah
• D. Plague and smallpox

Answer: (A)

Category B agents are the second tier of biodefense concern. They are moderately easy to disseminate and tend to cause moderate morbidity, but they have lower mortality than the most dangerous agents. Public health systems focus on rapid detection, outbreak surveillance, and effective clinical management to prevent widespread illness. Salmonella and brucellosis fit this category well because they can spread through common routes like contaminated food or animal contact and dairy products, causing meaningful illness but not typically high fatality with proper treatment. They illustrate agents that require strong public health response and preparedness, without the extreme lethality of the top-tier threats. In contrast, the other options involve agents classed as more dangerous due to higher mortality or broader potential for rapid spread, or they are categorized as emerging threats, not Category B.

Category B agents are the second tier of biodefense concern. They are moderately easy to disseminate and tend to cause moderate morbidity, but they have lower mortality than the most dangerous agents. Public health systems focus on rapid detection, outbreak surveillance, and effective clinical management to prevent widespread illness.

Salmonella and brucellosis fit this category well because they can spread through common routes like contaminated food or animal contact and dairy products, causing meaningful illness but not typically high fatality with proper treatment. They illustrate agents that require strong public health response and preparedness, without the extreme lethality of the top-tier threats.

In contrast, the other options involve agents classed as more dangerous due to higher mortality or broader potential for rapid spread, or they are categorized as emerging threats, not Category B.